Herbert Schiro had written a letter asking about allegory in The Lord of the Rings, apparently coming up with such comparisons as "five wizards = five senses", and "Orcs are Communists". Tolkien angrily dismissed this, and noted that though his tales were not allegorical, there was a certain applicability to them; individual aspects of several races - be it pride, sloth or greed - were still present in Man today.